Expansive-fluid motor.



PATBNTED vMAY 26, 190s.

J. A. NORTON. EXPANSIVE FLUID MOTOR.

APPLIOATION FILED MABflS. 1902.

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Niinn STATES Patented May 26, 1903.

JAMES A. NORTON, OF ODEBOLT, IOWA.

ExPANslvE-FLUID MOTOR..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,209, daten May.2e,1eo3.

Original application filed August 28. 1901, Serial NoL 73,516. Divided and this application filed March 13, 1902. Serial No. 981044. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JAMES A. NORTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Odebolt, in the county of Sac and State of Iowa,

have invented certain new and useful Im This application is a division of my application, Serial No. 73,516, filed August 28,

The purpose of this invention is to provide an expansive-fluid motor designed to be operated .by steam or compressed air, explosive gas, or other iiuid operating in a similar way, with operating parts so connected with the pistons that a given travel of the pistonin the cylinder or any part of its stroke will produce the same amount of rotary motion of the immediately-actuated or main driving Wheel or shaft as a like travel of the piston at any other part ofits stroke in the same direction. The construction resulting from the application of this invention is designed to be distinguished in this respect from the action of the ordinary reciprocating engine, with crank-shaft connected with the piston-rod, in, which as the crank-arm moves through each ninety degrees through its path of rotation the leverage with which the piston operates upon it varies from zero to a maximum depending on the length of the crank-arm, while the travel of the piston for each degree of angular movement of the crank varies from a minimum at the middle point of the stroke to a maximum at the end.

A further purpose .of the invention is to prevent the retardment in the action of the motor which is caused in other constructions by delay in the escape of the exhaust gases or steam, and thereby to make it possible to reverse the stroke as quickly as consistent with the relation of the expansive force of the Huid employed and the inertia of the moving parts.

A third purpose is to make it possible to employ two pistons operating by the same rotative element to produce the rotation thereof, one piston operating during its stroke in one direction, the other piston during its stroke in the opposite direction, and to cause the operating strokes of the two pistons to overlap, so that there shall not be a point at which the transfer occurs from one to the other by the abrupt cessation of the connection of one and the abrupt commencement of that of the other.

The invention consists in the association, with a proper cylinderand piston connections of an expansive or explosive fluid motor, of an endless chain and two wheels which it connects, the reciprocating pistons having, through proper connecting-rods, engagement with the chain adapted t'o actuate it in one stroke and to withdraw along it without actuating it in the opposite stroke; and, specifically, it consists also in the construction by which the two connecting-rods, actuated by a cylinder-and-piston construction suitable for the employment of explosive motor iiuid,'en gaged, respectively, on opposite plies of an endlessv chain passing around two Wheels, one of' said connections being adapted toactuate the chain by the stroke of the piston in one direction and the otherl adapted to actuate it by stroke in the opposite direction.

It consists, further, specifically in the employment of two pistons operating in separate chambers, having automatically-disengageable connections, by means of their respective connecting-rods, with the opposite plies of the chain passing around two wheels, each piston being arranged to be driven in only one direction by the motive iiuid and to be returned automatically by the mechanism to be operated, whereby it is rendered possible to give the A,piston different speeds in its actuating and returning strokes, respectively.

It` consists, further, in features of construction set out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a partly-sectional plan view of a motor embodying my invention,'section being made through the frame and bearings at the plane of the line 1 lon Fig. 2. Fig. 2isasection at the line 2 2 on Fig. 1.- Fig. 3 is a detail view, on a larger scale, of the dog which engages the'chain and means controlling it.

inasmuch as the pressure operating upon IOO the piston in an ordinary steam-engine construction, for example, is a diminishing one from the point at which the steam is cut off to the end of the stroke and may be reduced in some instances to zero at the end of the stroke by the opening of the exhaust-passage and inasmuch as in View of this fact a motor of the constructionv abovedescribed running slowly might come to a halt at the end of each stroke, it is desirable that the pressure for each stroke in each direction should become elfective as a source of motive power a little before the end of the preceding stroke,

so that there shall be no point at which theI power is at zero or limited to the momentum derived from the preceding motion. In order to accomplish this result, I employT the construction shown in the draw-ings, in which I employ two parallel cylinders 1 1, having independent pistons 2 2, the two cylinders -being arranged to receive the steam at oppo- 'site ends, but each at one end only, and Vthe 4the opposite ply of the chain on the instroke ofthe piston. The cylinder whose piston-rod has the dogl receives steam at the end remote from the dog, so that the outstroke of its piston may be its powerstroke or actuating stroke,while the other cylinder receives steam at the opposite end, so that the instroke of its piston is the power-stroke. Thus the chain derives its movement in each instance from the power-stroke of the piston whose dog engages it. To throw the dogs into and out of engagement with the'chain, each dog has a stud t3, traveling, preferably, in a groove or slot 7 in a web 8, projecting from the frame 9, such groove being formed with cam-slopes 1() and 1l at opposite ends, adapted, respectively, to throw the dog into and out of engagement with the chain. The dogs have each a projection 12 from the hub near the pivot, such projections bearing against a spring 13, lodged at its ends and yielding at the middle. rlhe movement of the dogs about the pivot from engaged to disengaged p'osition carries the projection l2 past the line of direct pressure of the spring toward the pivot, and the spring thus tends to hold the dog at either position after it is moved by the camslopes, respectively. In the absence of special provision for the purpose it will be seen that neither piston would have any return stroke. The provision for this purpose which I have shown consistsof a segment-rack 14 upon one of the wheels 15 15, such rack occupying from ninety degrees to one hundred and twenty degrees of the circumference and being adapted to mesh during a corresponding portion of the rotation of the Wheel with the pinion 16 on one end of the shaft 17, journaled in the frame, the other end of the shaft having a spur-gear 18, which meshes with the rack 19, rigid with the piston 2. Each piston being similarly provided and the pinions 16 and 18 and shaft 17 being duplicated at opposite sides to actuate the similar racks 19 19, it will be seen that the continued rotation of the wheel 15 having the rack 14E will in one half of its movement rotate the shaft 17 and cause the spur-gear 18 thereon to actuate the rack 19, and thereby retract the piston to which it is connected, while in the other half of the rotation of the wheel 15 the gear-segment 14 will in like manner retract the other piston, the retracting movement being in opposite directions, as the power actuating movements of the two pistons vare in opposite directions. The relation of the gear-segment 14,- the pinion 16, the spur-gear 18, and the rack 19 are calculated so that retraction of each piston is more rapid than its operating stroke-that is to say,is performed in less than half the rotation of the wheel 15--and the parts are assembled and put in engagement so timed that the retracting movement of each piston commences later than the actuating or power-communicating movement of the other piston, but ends substantially simultaneously therewith, or, to state the matter in inverse order, the power-actuating movement of each piston commences a little before the corresponding movement. of the other piston closes, the apparent loss of the later piston being IOO made up by the more rapid retraction which it receives from the mechanism described, so that it reaches the opposite end of its path ready to receive its actuating impulse and commence its power-stroke before the other piston finishes the power-stroke which it in like manner began while the first piston was still making its power-stroke.

I have not shown the mechanism for operating the inlet and exhaust valves of these cylinders, the construction of such valves and their operating mechanism being a matter which will readily be understood by those familiar with the art in View of the timing of their action indicated in the above description. v

For the purpose of cushioning the strokes of the piston in the form shown, having two IIO cylinders and pistons, in View of the fact that steam is admitted only at one end it may be desirable to provide at the end opposite that at which the steam is admitted a space which shall become a closed pocket just before the end of the stroke, which may be done by the construction shown in the drawings, wherein cushion to be inclosed in the space between the piston and the cylinder-head.

I claim- 1. An expansive-fluid motor, comprising two cylinders and pistons therein, and means for admitting the expansive fluid to said cylinders at opposite ends thereof respectively, whereby the power-strokes of the pistons are in opposite directions; two wheels, and a chain which connects them; connecting-rods from the two pistons having means for engaging the opposite plies of the chain respectively, adapted to engage the chain in the power-strokes of the pistons respectively, and to be disengaged frointhe chain in the opposite strokes.

2. An expansiveiiuid motor, comprising two parallel, cylinders, and pistons therein; means for controlling the admission of the expansive iiuid at the opposite ends of said cylinders respectively, toV give to the pistons power-strokes in opposite directions; two wheels, and a chain which connects them; rods reciprocated by the pistons respectively, having means for engagement with the opposite plies respectively of said chain, adapted. to engage the chain in the power-strokes of the respective pistons, and to be disengaged from the chain in the opposite strokes; and mechanical connections by which each piston in its power-stroke gives a retracting stroke to the other piston.

3. An expansive-Huid motor, comprising two parallel cylinders and pistons therein, suitably arranged for the admission of the eX- pansve fluid at opposite ends of said cylin ders respectively, to cause the pistons to have their powerstrokes in opposite directions; two wheels, and a chain which connects them;

rods reciprocated by the pistons respectively,

and means for engagement with the opposite plies respectively of the chain, constructed to engage and actuate the chain in the powerstrokes of the pistons respectively, and to be Without engagement with the chain in the oppositestrokes; and mechanical connections between the two pistons by which each piston in its power-stroke retracts the opposite piston with a movement more rapid than its own.

i. An expansive-fluid motor, comprising a cylinder and a piston adapted to reciprocate therein under the action of the expansive uid; an endless chain, and two wheels which the chain connects; arod reciprocated by the piston, and a dog connected with said rod adapted to engage the chain to actuate the latter by its stroke in one direction, and a cam adjacent to the path of movement of the dog to throw it into engagement with the chain at the commencement of one stroke, and' to throw it ont of such engagement at the end of such stroke.

5. An expansive-duid motor, comprising two wheels and a chain which encompasses and connects them, in combination with piston-actuating reciprocating rods having dogs connected to them respectively, adaptedto engage the opposite plies of the chain; cams adjacent to the path of the dogs adapted to be encountered by the latter and throw them into engagement with the chain at the commencement of their operating strokes respecrespectively, and dogs connected with saidV rods, adapted to engage respectively the opposite plies of the chain on the power-strokes respectively of the pistons; and cams adjacent to the paths of said dogs, for throwing them out of such engagement at the end of such stroke.

7. An expansive-duid motor, comprising a cylinder and a piston adapted to reciprocate therein under the action ofthe expansive duid; an endless chain,l and two wheels which the chain connects; a rod reciprocated by the piston, having pivoted to it a dog adapted to engage the chain in the movement of the rod in one direction; a cam at one end of the path of the dog to throw it into engagement with the chain, and a cam at the-opposite end to throw it ont of such engagement; aspring whose tension is exerted toward the pivot of the dog, the dog being constructed to receive the pressure of such spring at a point which is carried past the pivotin the movement of the dog into and out of engaged position, whereby said spring tends to hold it in either position to which it is forced bythe cams.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two witnesses, at Odebolt, Iowa.

JAMES A. NORTON. In presence of- MELvIN SMITH, MEL. J. SMITH.

IOO 

